Lucy’s adventures

The first week of April 2014, a beautiful puppy found our doorstep with her brother. After an unsuccessful attempt at finding her owner, Jason and I took this little puppy into our lives and adopted her. We adopted Lucy April 11, 2014 when she was 3 – months old.

My life has forever changed since that day.

April 14, 2014

Since I work from home doing freelance work for multiple papers in Arizona, Tennessee and Florida, I am fortunate enough to spend my days with this incredibly sweet puppy Lucy.

Here is a page dedicated to Lucy and the many adventures we have gone on since April.

The Adventures of Lucy . . .

The first blog I wrote about Lucy was April 14, 2014 titled “Rescued.”

I was still asleep when Jason came upstairs into our bedroom and said “Meghan,” which scared me awake. I was in a really deep sleep. He said come on I need your help. I got out of bed, got dressed and walked outside. I was greeted by two adorable little puppies eager to have human attention.

The second blog about Lucy, April 22, 2014 was titled “One healthy puppy.”

I am beyond thrilled to say that our puppy Lucy is healthy. I’ve been worried since she arrived, especially since we know absolutely nothing about her parents, where she came from and how long she was wandering outside.

Yesterday we decided to take Lucy on her first hike at a park not too far from where we live.

Ever since we brought her home at the beginning of April, I have been thinking about places we could take her. Let’s just say I’ve been pretty excited about including this little puppy in our outdoor adventures.

The twelfth blog, “A day in the rain,” shares our adventure at Laurel Run Park. Written on June 3, 2014

Although Lucy and I woke up around our normal time, a little after 7 a.m., Jason wasn’t too keen on getting out of bed just yet. I didn’t blame him, it was his first day off in I don’t know how long. So Lucy, Kimber and I curdled up alongside him in bed and fell back asleep until he was ready to wake for the day.

The fifteenth blog, “Camped out on the floor,” shares the restless night Lucy and I had camping out on the living room floor. Written on June 16, 2014.

Since her surgery on Friday I have put her cone on when we go to bed to distract her from licking. This unfortunately has been super uncomfortable and last night she fought it. She wouldn’t settle down.

The eighteenth blog, “Morning hike to Margarette Falls,” shares the adventures Lucy, Jason and I took in Greeneville, Tennessee. Written onJuly 1, 2014.

Lucy is becoming braver, which gets me excited. Every detour Jason takes off the path, Lucy is right there at his heels eager to experience his adventure. Today she even took a dive into the water, accidentally of course, but it brought the biggest smile to my face. She’s always so careful to jump from rock to rock as we cross creeks, so she doesn’t get wet.

The nineteenth blog, “Our favorite adventure: Devil’s Bath Tub,” explains our favorite new location to explore in Virginia. Written on July 12, 2014.

After whimpering for a minute or two, and with us encouraging her, she finally rocked back and jumped as far as she could make it, which, yep, ended up leaving her splashing right in the water. Lucy kicked and swam to the next rock, jumping from dry spot to dry spot before making it to the other side. As soon as she made it on dry land she shook a few times before trotting along behind Jason.

The twenty-first blog, “Came to my rescue,” shares our adventure out in the rain at the Devil’s Bath Tub. Written on July 24, 2014.

By this point, I had picked Lucy up and wrapped her in my shirt, which was gaining dampness by the minute. Thank goodness I packed another long sleeve Under Armour shirt that I could wear. This poor puppy of ours gets cold really fast.

The twenty-fourth blog, “10.1” shares Lucy and my success of running for the week. Written on Aug. 30, 2014.

Lucy, my puppy and I, went running on the Kingsport Greenbelt 5 days this week for a total of 10.1 miles. (We also walked and hiked 5+ miles with Jason this week. Lucy and I only took one day off!! I have to admit I feel amazing!!)

The twenty-seventh blog, “Another chapter begins” shares the excitement of putting a deposit down on a house to rent in Kingsport that has a huge backyard for Lucy. Written on Sept. 13, 2014.

On Sept. 4, Jason and I headed to Bays Mountain for a morning hike outdoors on one of the many beautiful trails. On our drive back home Jason turned into a driveway, which I was not expecting at all. This cute little house had a “For Rent” sign in the front yard. Since we had Lucy with us, I stayed in the car, while Jason peeked through the windows and walked around back.

The thirty-first blog, “New route = success” talks about the new route Lucy and I took for our late morning run. Written on Sept. 19, 2014.

Today we changed up our routine. Instead of going our usual route, I decided we would head right instead of left from the PetSmart parking area. What a great idea. We ran 2.54 miles today, our longest run so far this week.

The thirty-third blog, “Perfect couple of weeks” shares the time spent with my parents, my brother and his family, as well as moving into our new home. Written on Oct. 7, 2014.

The last few weeks have been nonstop . . . with that said, I wouldn’t change a thing. My parents flew into town on Sept. 23 and spent a few days with us before Jason and I drove them to Maryland, so they could end their vacation with my brother and his family.

The thirty-fourth blog, “Breathtaking fall afternoon run,” includes some incredible fall photographs during our first run in more than 20 days. Written on Oct. 13, 2014.

Lucy and I have taken way too much time off from running these last few weeks, due to my parents coming into town (we went hiking instead) and Jason and I moving into our new home. Plus, it has been nonstop raining for the last I don’t know how many days making it difficult to go anywhere.

The thirty-sixth blog, “Picture perfect running day,” shares how Lucy and I took advantage of the blue sky and 70 degree weather for another run. Written on Oct. 17, 2014.

So this afternoon with temperatures in the 70s, a slight wind and blue skies, my puppy and I went to our go to place, the Kingsport Greenbelt. Today we were able to head in the opposite direction because the path was dry. This route always graces us with a successful distance, a further running distance.

The thirty-seventh blog, “Surpassed running goal,” talks about the 3.13 miles we ran today. A new achievement. Written on Oct. 19, 2014.

I’m not sure if it was the cooler temperatures, my car said it was in the mid 50s before we got out, or running a new path . . . but we ran our longest distance yet. The longest since I began tracking our exercise on a running app on my phone. Previously our longest run was 2.89 miles.

The thirty-eighth blog, “Fun in the leaves,” shares a ton of pictures of Lucy in the leaves. Written on Oct. 21, 2014.

It was in no way shape or form an easy task, but Lucy and I had fun. I used sticks, acorns and even treats to try to get her to sit still, which of course only worked about a third of the time. It was fun nonetheless . . . as Lucy jumped to grab the leaves, acorns and sticks. It was really cute to see her reaction as I threw leaves on her back . . .

The thirty-ninth blog, “I’m in love,” includes a ton of fall pictures that Lucy and I saw during our hike at Bays Mountain. Written on Oct. 25, 2014.

For a week now, I have been staring out my office window wishing I was hiking the trails at Bays Mountain instead of being stuck at my desk working. The stunning fall colors were constantly catching my attention with the curtains drawn causing me to drift away from the work before me.

The fortieth blog, “Cold, but surprisingly good run,” shares the challenges I had with Lucy today. Written on Nov. 2, 2014.

The third thing I learned today was Lucy runs even faster in colder temperatures. We really never have an issue with her running too far ahead of me, even on a short leash. Lucy’s usually running at my side or just a step or two in front of me. Well, today it was a different story. She was running, at times pulling me, as she maneuvered along the path. Lucy is barely nine pounds and she was pulling me!

The forty-first blog, “Registered for my first 5K!,” shares our run, as well as my excitment of registering for my first 5K race in Kingsport. Written on N0v. 3, 2014.

I finally did it. I registered for my first 5K race.

We ran 2.33 miles with only one brief stop. I had to take off one of the three layers I put on and Lucy had to take a quick bathroom break. One brief stop and we ran more than half the distance I need to complete the 5K! I was so proud of Lucy, well me for that matter too. We usually stop halfway through our run for 5 plus minutes sometimes.

The forty-seventh blog, “Birthday Girl” was written on Jan. 21, 21015.

Lucy and I woke lazily this morning long after the sun rose. My thoughts instantly became clouded as I came to with a million little things running through my mind. Those thoughts were the same that consumed me the night before.

Lucy helped put a smile on my face erasing them all for a few minutes.

Yesterday, Feb. 16, Kingsport received its first good snow this winter as Winter Storm Octavia crossed our region. It started snowing yesterday morning and remained pretty consistent into the evening after the sun went down.

The forty-ninth blog, “Broke my heart” shares an experience I will never forget after Lucy and I walked indoors from walking in the snow. Written on Feb. 18, 2015.

I finally was able to talk her into walking back under the house when she finally did her business. After telling her what a good girl she was we started walking through the snow to reach the sidewalk to the front door.

The fifty-first blog “Another layer of snow” was written on Feb. 26, 2015.

I’m so proud of Lucy. She is getting the hang of going outside running crazy in the snow and even going to the bathroom IN THE SNOW! This morning when we ventured outside the snow was a little deeper than we both expected. Her legs disappeared as she walked to find a spot to go to the bathroom. My little short leg puppy.

We headed to the Boatyard portion of the Greenbelt. I’m so glad I decided to go for a walk with Lucy tonight. The temperatures were in the 60s, and although it was still somewhat cloudy, it was exactly what I needed.

We walked a little more than 2 miles. Well, Lucy ran as I speed walked behind her trying to keep up.

The fifty-eighth blog, “More than a month ago,” was written on June 1, 2015.

It’s hard to believe I returned to Southwest Florida more than a month ago. I have spent a great deal of time with family and friends since returning, something that was hard to live without for almost two years.

One of my new favorite routines happens every Saturday. I spend the week looking forward to my early start that morning.

The fifty-ninth blog, “Another chapter starts,” was written on June 12, 2015.

The hardest part of Monday was saying goodbye to my little puppy who I have spent pretty much every day with since we adopted her in April 2014. The look she gave me as I closed the garage door made me smile as memories flooded of the time we have spent together. My heart broke a little knowing that she will now spend a good portion of the day alone.